Molecular modeling of the 3D structure of 5-HT(1A)R: discovery of novel 5-HT(1A)R agonists via dynamic pharmacophore-based virtual screening

J Chem Inf Model. 2013 Dec 23;53(12):3202-11. doi: 10.1021/ci400481p. Epub 2013 Nov 22.

Abstract

The serotonin receptor subtype 1A (5-HT(1A)R) has been implicated in several neurological conditions, and potent 5-HT(1A)R agonists have therapeutic potential for the treatment of depression, anxiety, schizophrenia, and Parkinson's disease. In the present study, a homology model of 5-HT(1A)R was built based on the latest released high-resolution crystal structure of the β₂AR in its active state (PDB: 3SN6). A dynamic pharmacophore model, which takes the receptor flexibility into account, was constructed, validated, and applied to our dynamic pharmacophore-based virtual screening approach with the aim to identify potential 5-5-HT(1A)R agonists. The obtained hits were subjected to 55-HT(1A)R binding and functional assays, and 10 compounds with medium or high K(i) and EC₅₀ values were identified. Among them, FW01 (K(i) = 51.9 nM, EC₅₀ = 7 nM) was evaluated as the strongest agonist for 5-HT(1A)R. The active 5-HT(1A)R model and dynamic pharmacophore model obtained from this study can be used for future discovery and design of novel 5-HT(1A)R agonists. Also, by integrating all computational and available experimental data, a stepwise 5-HT(1A)R signal transduction model induced by agonist FW01 was proposed.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Catalytic Domain
  • Databases, Protein
  • Drug Discovery
  • Guanosine 5'-O-(3-Thiotriphosphate) / chemistry
  • High-Throughput Screening Assays
  • Humans
  • Indoles / chemistry*
  • Ligands
  • Molecular Docking Simulation
  • Molecular Dynamics Simulation*
  • Piperazines / chemistry*
  • Protein Binding
  • Receptor, Serotonin, 5-HT1A / chemistry*
  • Receptors, Adrenergic, beta-2 / chemistry
  • Serotonin 5-HT1 Receptor Agonists / chemistry*
  • Small Molecule Libraries / chemistry*
  • Structural Homology, Protein
  • Structure-Activity Relationship
  • User-Computer Interface*

Substances

  • Indoles
  • Ligands
  • Piperazines
  • Receptors, Adrenergic, beta-2
  • Serotonin 5-HT1 Receptor Agonists
  • Small Molecule Libraries
  • Receptor, Serotonin, 5-HT1A
  • Guanosine 5'-O-(3-Thiotriphosphate)